I got to watch about 50 brilliant choir teachers give up their weekend over the last two days.
At the end of their stressful first week of school, they drove from across Michigan to volunteer for MSVMA. Seven left directly after school to make it to Big Rapids for an Executive Board meeting, which then lasted past midnight on Friday.
The rest either drove in Friday night or Saturday morning for a six hour meeting, grappling with tough decisions on proposals, hearing a statistically dense presentation on our festival rubric, and completing the hard work of crafting mission and vision statements.
They willingly gave up time at home with family for the sake of this organization dedicated to enhancing vocal music in Michigan. Some had sacrificed many hours of family time and teaching prep time for the sake of their responsibilities in this volunteer position.
They came tired, ill, recovering from surgery. They came prepared, ready to work, with strong opinions about the future of the organization.
They came in the spirit of volunteerism, in the best possible sense.
I am so fortunate to be able to serve alongside these amazing educators and volunteers, learning from them and collaborating with them.